Chinese policemen detain a group of suspects during a prostitution raid at a hotel in Dongguan in south China's Guangdong province on Feb. 9. / AP

by Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

by Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY

BEIJING - Thousands of police officers have raided karaoke bars, nightclubs, hotels and saunas in 16 Chinese cities over recent days, detaining more than 1,000 suspects in the latest attempt to curb the country's illegal but booming sex industry.

More busts are likely now that the China's Ministry of Public Security ordered a nationwide crackdown on prostitution, gambling and drugs. Some experts doubt the arrests will solve the problem given the popularity of the service in China.

Others say the biggest reason that prostitution remains endemic to China is that police and authorities in cities take bribes to overlook the crime, and so the only thing to do is no longer treat it as a crime.

Li Yinhe, a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, says the government must reconsider its laws and approach. Legalizing the industry could reduce corruption and ensure health checks and education of sex workers, who could be offered training for other work, she told Caixin Media.

Prostitution is available everywhere in China, from street-side barbershops to high-end hotels. Many of the arrests in the latest sweep are taking place in Dongguan, a southern manufacturing hub long notorious as China's "sex capital."

An undercover report aired by the state broadcaster CCTV on Feb. 9 revealed prostitutes parading themselves before men inside an upscale Dongguan hotel. Within hours of the report, Dongguan police dispatched more than 6,000 officers to raid hundreds of entertainment venues, hotels and massage parlors.

Last Wednesday, more than 4,800 policemen in Harbin, in China's frigid northeast, swept through 2,700 venues. At least 16 cities in nine provinces were carrying out crackdowns, the Beijing News reported Monday.

Dongguan Police Chief Yan Xiaokang was fired Friday for "dereliction of duty" and seven other local officials were also removed from their positions, reported the state news agency Xinhua.

More heads may roll as the Ministry of Public Security, China's national police force, warned Sunday that it will target the organizers, operators and the "protective umbrella" of the city's sex trade, referring to local police officers.

The anti-prostitution drive follows an ongoing anti-corruption campaign by China's Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping. But critics say the party is being hypocritical.

Richard Burger, author of Behind the Red Door: Sex in China, has written that the moralizing of China's state-run media "reeks of hypocrisy."

"It is the well-connected and the government officials who most enjoy the services of the high-end prostitutes and ernai," wrote Burger, referring to mistresses who are paid a regular salary.

"And the local authorities depend heavily on the bribes and fines they earn from the sex trade industry," he said.

Fighting prostitution is called "sweeping the yellow" in China, after the Chinese term for the pornography that is also illegal but highly popular in China. With a 3,000-year history in China, interrupted by a 25-year ban under Chairman Mao, prostitution is a "cornerstone of the economy," contributing 6% to 8% of China's annual GDP, Burger said.

Ma Xiaonian, one of China's leading sexologists, told the China Daily newspaper last week that China's prostitutes now number about 20 million. Legalizing their trade will not bring social instability, said Ma, who welcomed the support many Internet users have expressed online for prostitutes.

"It's an indication of people's strong awareness of human rights, as well as social tolerance," he said.

The ruling Communist Party's main mouthpiece, the People's Daily newspaper, said in a commentary Friday that prostitution was a "blasphemy against civilization." While other state media have rallied to this call, some outspoken Chinese citizens have instead renewed their criticism of the state broadcaster.

"'Sweeping the yellow' is not wrong; there's a moral and legal basis for attacking prostitution," Beijing lawyer Zhang Kai wrote on the Sina Weibo microblog.

"But it's wrong to let CCTV report this issue first, because everybody knows CCTV is dirty all over, and even dirtier than Dongguan," he said, alluding to the state-run station's deference to reporting news only approved by the Communist Party.

"It's like a thief crying 'stop, thief'; between the mafia and a thief, everyone will definitely stand on the weaker side."